Method of knitting hosiery



April 25, 1939. E, RUCKEL 2,155,686

METHOD OF KNITTING HOSIERY Filed Oct. 29, 1937 INVENTOR. W Erwin Rue/(e! 45 ATTOR EY.

Patented Apr. 25, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,155,686 METHOD ornmrrmc nosmar Application October 29, 1937, Serial No. 171,621

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in method of knitting hosiery.

As is well known, the customary way of knitting a full-fashioned stocking is to utilize the 5 legger for knitting the leg and heel tabs, the leg blanks being then transferred to a footer machine for knitting the foot. Or, both the leg and foot blanks are knit upon a single unit ma chine without transfer. The chief advantages IQ of single unit knitting are that the leg and foot blank are made throughout of yarn or yarns from the same cones under unvarying mechanical conditions which insures uniformity of loop structure and weight. Also, the danger that a ring 5 will appear in the instep at the course at which the blank is transferred from the legger to the footer is avoided. In addition, the instep transferring operation is eliminated.

comparatively recent developments have made it possible to utilize a standard legger machine for the production of the complete stocking blank with the exception of the heel tabs, which are later added upon a footer or other suitable heeling machine. That is to say, the usual knitting sequence is varied only in that the foot is knit directly after the completion of the leg and high heels to produce a continuous fabric, the heel tabs being added later on the machine which completes the heels.

However, in using a standard legger in this way, a difficulty is encountered. In a correctly proportioned stocking blank the portion of the foot which is knit first is wider by approximately one inch, as a general-rule, than the adjacent lower end of the leg, and there are no facilities upon the standard legger for holding the loops which must be added to obtain this extra width. This difliculty has been overcome, in some cases, by widening the lower end of the leg fabric until, when the high heels are completed, the over-all width of the fabric is equal to that required for starting the foot. One or more intermediate severing courses of the same length are then knit, after which the knitting of the foot is begun. In this way all of the loops of the first course of the foot are supported from the last course of the leg through the intermediate severing courses. Thereupon the sole portions are severed from the high heels by cutting along the severing courses. 50 Before such separation is made, however, it is necessary to top not only the needle loops of the last courseof the high heels, but also the sinker loops of the sole portions of the first course of the foot, onto a special topping stand having two parallel rows of topping points. Since the two courses are very close together and must be topped simultaneously upon the two rows of topping points, this is a slow and diflicult operation further complicated by the fact that the sinker loops are exceedingly small. Also, no ravelling 5 courses are provided at the end of the sole portions; therefore, when the heel tabs are knit to the ends of the high heels, it is necessary to add ravelling courses at the same time to the ends of the soles to protect them from runs, and to give the operator something to grasp in the subsequent topping operation by which the ends of the sole portions are joined to the sides of the heel tabs on the looping machine. In addition, the extra width of fabric added to the bottom of the leg, as described above, must be i cut off before the stocking is seamed, or it may be included in the seam. In either case, however, the production of a small, neat and positive seam is made more difi'icult.

While a well-proportionedstocking can be produced in this way, the widening of the leg to the width required for the foot, the two topping operations, particularly the one first mentioned, and'the' seaming operation add materially to the time and difficulty and, consequently, to the cost of production.

The present invention also relates to the production upon a standard legger of a complete stocking, with the exception of the heel tabs, and overcomes .these difiiculties as well as possessing several other distinct advantages.

The invention is illustrated by the drawing, in which: v

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the first step in one method of the manufacture of the stocking blank;

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are views illustrating subsequent steps; and

Figure5 is a view of a completed stocking 40 blank.

From Figure 5 it will be noted that the stocking blank may include the usual leg portion 2 with the usual spliced high heels 3 followed by the foot 4, the spliced sole portions 5 of which 4 are separated from the corresponding high heels except at the extreme inner corners 1. The portion of the foot adjacent the end of the leg is wider than the end of the leg by about one inch, more or less.

By the method illustrated in the drawing, this' stocking blank is produced in the following way: First, as shown in Fig. 1, two sections of sole ravel courses 8 of any desired length are knit on the needles which will later support the loops 5 of the spliced sole portions 5 from their edges to the reinforced corners l. runs proceeding from the course first knit of these sole ravel sections it is advisable, although not essential, that one or more run stops be included as shown at 9. When these sole ravel course sections 8 are completed they are dropped down under the knocking-over bits out of knitting position, but left hanging on the needle shanks. 0

Then the knitting of the welt and leg, including the spliced high heels 5, is carried out in the usual way, the fabric being restricted throughout to the usual width; that is to say, the lower part of the leg fabric is not widened to correspond to the required foot width as has been considered necessary heretofore. When the last course of the leg and spliced high heels have been knit it is followed by the intermediate sever ing course or courses 6, which are preferably, though not necessarily, unreinforced except at the extreme inner corners I of the high heel and sole portions. I

Before knitting the next course which is first course ill of the foot, the previously knit sole ravel course sections 8, which, as described above, are hanging on the needles below theknockingover bits, are again brought into knitting position. These, it will. be remembered, occupy the needles which will be used for knitting the spliced sole portions 5 between the selvedge and the reinforced corners I. -In consequence, they will extend outwardly beyond the selvedges of the leg to an extent equal to the extra width of the foot,as compared with the leg.

The machine is now adjusted so that the yarn will be laid over the additional needles required for producing the extra foot width and the first course ll! of the foot is knit, the selvedges now corresponding with the outer edges of the sole ravel course sections 8. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 2, the first course 10 of the foot not only continues the instep fabric, but is knit to the intermediate course 6 to points coincident with the outer limits of the high heels, and also to the sole ravel course sections 8 which support in addition the loops added to widen the foot and later become ravel courses for protecting the first course of the sole portions from run-' ning during subsequent operations, as will be v more fully explained.

foot 4, as shown in Fig. 3, after which the stocking is removed from the legger and the needle loops of the last course of the high heels 3 topped onto a topping stand which may be of conventionalfiat bar type. Thereupon the high heels .3 are severed from the soles 5 by cutting inwardly along severing courses 6 as far as reinforced corners I. The topping points upon which the high heels are now suspended prevent the stitches from dropping or running in the high heels, and the sole ravel course sections '8 which have been knit to the first course of the sole sections 5, as above described, prevent runs in these sections. In this way the difficult step of topping simultaneously with needle loops of thelast course of the high heels and the sinker loops of the first course of the soles onto a special stand having two rows of points, is elim- To insure against inated and topping reduced to a simple, single operation with which all operators are familiar. The fabric is then transferred to a machine suitable for making heel tabs and the heel tabs II are knit thereon, being connected to the last course of the high heels 3, as shown in Fig. 4.

The fabric is then topped onto a looping machine in the usual way, and the ends IU of the sole portions 5 joined to the sides I2 of the heel tabs H, the sole ravel course sections 8 being ravelled out before actual looping, as shown in Fig. 5. The stocking is then completed in the usual way.

If desired, theabove method may be varied by first knitting the welt, leg and intermediate severing courses 6, and then transferring to the proper needles previously produced sole ravel course sections before knitting the first course of the foot.

In this way a stocking blank is produced on a standard legger, the foot of which is wider than the corresponding end of the leg, which extra width is obtained without widening the'end of the leg. The sole ravel course sections not only provide an anchorage for the extra loops of the first course of the foot, which are required for the extra width, but they prevent the running of the loops in the soles when the sole portions are severed-from the high heels and facilitate topping. No difficult double topping operation is necessary, the topping being-limited to the needle loops of the last course of the high heels before the sole portions are severed and to the sides of the heel tabs and the ends of the sole portions when they are joined together on a looping machine, and the last-mentioned topping operation isgreatly simplified by the ravel placing the sections of sole ravelling courses in knitting position again, then knitting the first course of the foot whereby the foot is joined to the last knit intermediate course and also to the sole ravelling course sections. l

2. The method of knitting upon a fiat knitting machine the leg and, foot of a stocking; which consists of knittingtwo spaced sections of sole ravelling courses, moving them out of knitting position without removing them from the needles, knitting the leg, knitting at least one intermediate course, placing the sections of sole ravelling courses in knitting position again, then knitting the first course of the foot whereby the foot is joined to the last'knit intermedi'. ate course and also-to the sole ravelling course sections, completing the knitting of the foot. knitting heel tabs upon the end of the leg and joining the sides of the heel tabs to the ends of the sole sections of the foot, the sole ravelling course sections being unraveled before said joining.

ERWIN RUCKEL. 

